Field Guide to Modern Diesel Locomotives

[Favrefan04]

I was wondering if any of you out there have this book, it is by Kalmbach Publishing. I was interested in getting it. I am fairly new to the hobby, and as of yet I am still in the research phase of my layout. In the town that I live there is a BNSF Shortline that goes through. I always see the same 4 loco's in action. Each of the loco's is different from the other 3. I would like to figure out what each one is, so that I know what I need to get for my motive power. They are always in a 4 Engine consist. I am not sure yet if I want to have all 4 in the consist as this prototype does do to the planned size of my layout (4x8, or 5x9).

If any of you have this book, and have any comments about it's pros and cons, I am anxious to hear them.

Thanks in advance.[:D]

[mustanggt]

I have an old edition of the book from about 1995, so it doesn't cover BNSF colors yet. But it is an invalueable resource for anyone who likes trains. The book goes into detail well about location of grills, louvers, ect. and says the build dates for almost every engine.

Dave

[Favrefan04]

There is only one BNSF loco out of the 4, 2 of them are Santa Fe's, and the other is BN. They all seem to be older locos. I have been trying to look and some different locos offered by LL Proto 2K and Athearn, but there are many that look similar to me. At the moment I only have my memory to go from, which isn't that good. I need to go park near a crossing and get some pictures to be able to us as reference.

Thanks again Dave

[M636C]

The "Field Guide" really only covers locomotives built since 1972. It is possible that some of the units are older than this. Kalmbach also publish a book on older locomotives, up to 1972 called "The First Fifty Years". But I'd recommend you get the "Field Guide" first, and that should give you an idea of how to go about recognising the locomotives. With that, you should be able to tell EMD units from GE units. I've had a copy of every issue of these books since the first "Diesel Spotter's Guide" was published over thirty years ago. You won't regret getting it!

But another suggestion is just to post the BNSF numbers of the units on this forum, and someone will be able to tell you what they are!

Getting photographs and checking against model pictures on a model manufacturer's web site is another way of working it out.

Things to look for are the number of axles. Locomotives generally have four axles or six axles. The model locomotive builder's model description will reflect this. Do the locomotives have fans visible over the radiators at the end away from the cab? This generally (but not always) suggests that the unit was built by EMD (the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors -about to be sold to Greenbriar). EMD road units are mainly "General Purpose" (GP) four axle units or "Special Duty" (SD) six axle units. GE used the letter "B" for four axle units and "C" for six axle, but the GE models descriptions have changed more than EMDs. Older GE units often had very short, rounded low hoods in front of the cab. But with the books, you can make the decisions yourself.

Peter

[Favrefan04]

After I figure out what the Locos are, and if I decide to have them all in a consist, do you think that it is a good idea to have a couple of them only be dummy units? On a small layout such as what I will be starting out with, I don't know if it is such a good idea to have 4 Locos lashed together all working and only pulling 5-10 cars.

This is the prototype that I have grown up with, and I am the most familiar with, as well as like the most. So if I am going to use it for the basis of my layout, then I would like to get as many of the details as I can right.

Any thoughts?

[M636C]

It really depends on what you want to do with the locomotives. Not all models are available as dummy and powered units. Athearn is the best source for dummy units, (other than dummy "B" F or E units).

If you have only a small "train set" power pack, it might not be happy supplying four units, and a couple of dummy units will allow more realistic operation. A big power pack with adequate current capacity will run four powered units together.

But you do have to identify the units. BN in particular had some rebuilt units that are not available in model form, mainly rebuilds of GP30s and GP35s with more modern electrical gear. But assuming they are fairly standard units, GP38s and the like, you should be able to get dummy units. If some units are available as dummy units and others not, or not in your road name, you might have to decide which ones to get powered and which as dummy units. Dummy units are cheaper, but are not as flexible as having all units powered.

Go out, take some photos, and check against a book or sites on the web. There are a lot of BN and ATSF locomotive photos on the web.

But by all means model the trains you see. As long as the models are available, do what you want - it's your model railroad, and you don't have to get permission from anybody (outside the immediate family, of course).

Peter

[Favrefan04]

I have already purchased a Digitrax Empire Builder, so I don't think that power will be a problem with having all 4 units being powered. Idealy I would like to have a much larger layout, but everybody always says to start out with a 4x8 first and work your way up as you learn. One of my thoughts was to make it so that they 4x8 is basically a module, so that it will be easy for me to expand on.

Thanks for all the advice in information.